CPR from quick-acting doctor saves man suffering cardiac arrest
It's a connection two people will have for a lifetime.
Lawrence Cohen suffered a cardiac arrest in an ice cream parlour in Montreal's NDG neighbourhood and was saved by Dr. Ilana Bank, who gave him CPR.
"She's just like a guardian angel," said Cohen. "I mean, if not for her, I wouldn't be here now. I'm just lucky to be alive."
Cohen and Bank are sharing their story in the hopes that more people will learn CPR.
Bank is an emergency physician at the Montreal Children's Hospital and made a last-minute decision that day to grab a cone at the Diperie ice cream shop on Monkland Avenue.
During that brief time, one of the owners ran outside in a panic.
"She opened the door and she's like, 'Oh my God, you're medical! Somebody just collapsed!'" said Bank.
Cohen was on the ground.
"[I] looked at him and I said, 'Lawrence, what's the matter?'" said Diperie owner Doug Ayoub.
Cohen, an audio-video technician, was there on a job when he went into cardiac arrest.
That's when Bank sprang into action and performed CPR for seven minutes until paramedics arrived.
"It's really just: push hard, push fast, and that's what I did," she said. "I pushed hard, I pushed fast."
Cohen was clinically dead for 12 minutes and intubated for eight days.
For people who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital, the chance of surviving is slim.
It wasn't the ending Bank was expecting when she called the Diperie for an update.
"I think I jumped out of my seat. I said, 'What?' and they're like, 'Yeah, he's alive!'" she said.
Even Cohen's neurologist was surprised.
"He said you're one per cent of people who survive," said Cohen. "You shouldn't be alive. You should be dead. So that's a wake-up call."
It was a wake up call for the Diperie's owners as well.
"I felt quite helpless because I didn't know any lifesaving measures," said Ayoub.
Cohen and Bank hope people will take away the lesson that you don't have to be a doctor to learn CPR.
"It's about having the frame of mind if something like this is to happen, I'm going to be open to doing the best I can, and that's all we can do," said Bank. "And that's really just push hard, push fast."
Years before Cohen had a heart attack, he underwent a quintuple bypass.
"I've basically died three times, so I've got six lives left," said Cohen.
With his sense of humour intact, Cohen tries not to sweat the small stuff these days.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6730880.1705537637!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
Ontario man told his EV needs $33K battery. Software update fixes the problem
An Ontario man said he couldn't believe an electric car he bought three years ago for $20,000 would need a new battery at a cost of more than $33,000.
Bank of Canada set to announce third consecutive interest rate cut today
The Bank of Canada will announce its interest rate decision this morning as forecasters expect it to deliver another quarter-point rate cut.
Trudeau should step down to prevent Poilievre from winning election: LGBTQ2S+ activists
LGBTQ2S+ activists say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's pledge to remain the Liberal leader through to the next election, despite dwindling public support, is putting them at risk.
Samsung electric oven ranges recalled due to fire hazard in Canada
Hundreds of thousands of Samsung electric ranges recalled in Canada over fire hazard.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Kuleba resigns as Russian strikes kill 7 people in Lviv
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, one of Ukraine's most recognizable faces on the international stage, submitted his resignation Wednesday ahead of an expected major government reshuffle. Russian strikes, meanwhile, killed seven people in a western Ukraine city, a day after one of the deadliest missile attacks since the war began.
'He didn't deserve to die like that': 15-year-old boy fatally gunned down steps from Toronto police station
Mario Giddings was supposed to start Grade 11 at Weston Collegiate Institute on Tuesday morning. Instead, those who knew and loved him are mourning his death after the 15-year-old boy was fatally shot on Monday evening in the parking lot of a plaza just across the street from a Toronto police station.
'You're crazy!': Sprinter fails to qualify for 100m final, but proposes to girlfriend in front of 40,000 people
Paralympic sprinter Alessandro Ossola may have failed to qualify for the final of the T63 100 meters, but the Italian secured a 'yes' from his ecstatic girlfriend after proposing to her in the stands of the Stade de France after the race.
Raygun apologizes to breakdance community for backlash to her Paris Olympic performance
Rachael Gunn, the Olympic breaker who went viral for her dance performance at the Paris Games last month, has apologized to the breaking community for the backlash she brought upon it.
John Tavares is taking the CRA to court. A ruling against him could change how NHL teams sign players
Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares is taking the CRA to court over a dispute as to how a signing bonus from 2018 should be taxed. The ruling could have a chilling effect on how Canadian NHL franchises negotiate with unrestricted free agents.